The top 10 tech stories of 2013

By Heather Kelly, CNN

Updated 12:21 PM ET, Fri December 27, 2013

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Top tech stories 2013 – NSA snooping programs revealed: Leaks about top-secret NSA programs that track cellphone and Internet data have shaken up the tech industry, Washington and the world while raising awareness of privacy issues. The story will continue to have an impact in America and abroad in 2014.

Top tech stories 2013 – Apple releases iOS 7, two new iPhones: This year Apple's biggest move was to update its mobile operating system, iOS 7, which got new features and a fresh look. The company also released two new iPhones (the gold-colored, fingerprint-detecting 5S and the cheaper and more colorful 5C) and two speedier iPads.

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Top tech stories 2013 – Micro videos go mainstream: First Twitter, no stranger to combining arbitrary constraints with creativity, released Vine, a new social app for sharing six-second videos. Instagram quickly followed by allowing videos up to 15 seconds long. The new medium has already taken off with clips of breaking news, artsy creations and a new kind of selfie.

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Top tech stories 2013 – Microsoft buys Nokia, says bye-bye to Ballmer : Microsoft made some major moves this year as it attempted to break into the mobile market. In addition to updates for its still-young desktop, tablet and mobile operating systems, the company bought Nokia's phone division and announced the departure of longtime CEO Steve Ballmer.

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Top tech stories 2013 – Game console wars: After a long quiet period, two of the three major game-machine makers finally released new versions of their popular game consoles. The PS4 and Xbox One are battling it out for holiday consumers' dollars. When the dust settles in early 2014, we'll see if there's one clear victor.

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Top tech stories 2013 – Snapchat leads rise of messaging apps: It was dismissed as a simple app for sexting teens, but Snapchat, like other upstart messaging apps, has a fast-growing user base. It is seen as a threat to traditional social media like Facebook, as well as old-fashioned SMS text messaging.

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Top tech stories 2013 – Wearable tech goes mainstream: The age of wearable technology is not here yet, but in 2013 a crop of protoypes took their first unsteady steps towards common use. Google spread its Glass eyewear to thousands of early testers, while companies launched various smartwatches and fitness trackers. Wearables could find their groove in the coming year.

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Top tech stories 2013 – Twitter's IPO: Twitter's initial public offering was the most anticipated tech IPO since Facebook's fumbled debut last year. It minted a new crop of tech millionaires and billionaires, but raised questions about the profitability of the social media company's young ad business.

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Top tech stories 2013 – The rise of Bitcoin: Virtual currency Bitcoin has been around since 2009, but this year it picked up serious steam. It rocketed in price and popularity while fighting for mainstream acceptance and against regulation. But is it just a bubble?

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Story highlights

Revelations about the scope of the NSA's snooping lead to the year's biggest tech stores

Hacking of major companies and sites for politics, fun and profit a reoccurring story in 2013

Snapchat, Vine, Bitcoin and iOS 7 all became familiar terms

The biggest technology story of 2013 is one of the biggest stories of the year, period. It has had serious implications in the United States and around the world, and half a year later its true impact is only beginning to be felt.

In June, the Guardian first published leaked documents from National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden. The classified documents contained information about highly confidential government programs that collect massive amounts of data about Americans' cell phone calls and Internet activities

The scope of the program has led to lawsuits and protests, a public debate about the right to privacy versus the government's need to secretly collect information for security.

Another big story this year was cybersecurity, illustrated by a string of attacks by hackers against news organizations, major tech companies and retailers. The motivations behind the attacks varied: Some, like the recent Target breach, were financially motivated, while others were political statements or acts of espionage. They all highlighted the limits of online security and privacy.

It was a year when established tech companies struggled to reinvent themselves. Microsoft continued to push its new Windows 8 operating system and Windows 8 smartphones, even going as far as to buy the No. 1 maker of Windows phones, Nokia's mobile division. In the end, it wasn't enough and the company decided on one more big change: a new CEO.

A bright spot for Microsoft could be its new game console, the Xbox One, which is competing against Sony's new PlayStation 4.

Apple didn't have to switch much up to stay popular. It announced an expected update to its iPhone and iPad lines with the usual fanfare, slimming down and speeding up the devices, throwing in some flashy features like a fingerprint scanner and new colors to keep the masses interested.

Some of 2013's big stories were just previews of what's to come in 2014. Wearable technology moved from the hype stage to the prototype stage, but Google Glass and the myriad of not-ready-for-prime-time smartwatches just showed the industry still has a lot more work to do (on design and social norms) before these gadgets are hot holiday items.

Tune in next year and see whether face-mounted computers become a socially acceptable accessory, 3-D printed guns become something to worry about and original content from sites like Amazon and Netflix can take on TV.